CodeWeavers recently announced the upcoming release of CrossOver Mac, an application which will allow Intel mac owners to run Windows programs. Based on WINE, CrossOver sets itself apart by not requiring users to own a copy of Windows and by allowing the emulated applications to run within OS X.

While CrossOver is mainly intended to run business software, it supports graphics hardware and upon release should be able to run games such as Half Life 2.

CodeWeaver's Rob Parshall commented on the upcoming application in an interview with Macworld:

Gamers have a strong interest in Boot Camp, as it allows them to play games that won’t run natively on Mac OS X — Parallels Desktop has disappointed gamers because it doesn’t include native graphics driver support so it isn’t suitable for running 3D games. CrossOver Mac won’t suffer that problem, though Parshall cautions that CodeWeavers’ specific area of focus isn’t on games.

The company said it hopes “to offer support for a limited number of games,” but hasn’t yet determined the final mix of supported applications. Parshall told Macworld that the popular shooter Half-Life 2 is on the list, and while he said that it isn’t technically on the supported list of applications, the new 2K Games-published FPS Prey also works well.

Another benefit of CrossOver Mac’s approach to running Windows software is that it’s much less susceptible to infection by Windows-based viruses or malware than a true Windows-based solution, according to Parshall.

“A virus needs to affect the guts of Windows,” he explained. “Theoretically, if you were really, really good you might be able to get your virus to run under WINE, but we’ve yet to hear about anyone who has, even in the laboratory.”

Parshall said he expects that this protection will extend to CrossOver Mac as well.